ICTA Seminar Series Europe sets a record

With 130 attendees from over 20 countries, the 19th International Cinema Technology Association Seminar Series Europe at Cinesa Diagonal Mar cinema in Barcelona. Spain, on June 14-15 was the most successful edition since its launch nearly two decades ago.

Thomas Rüttgers, international VP of the ICTA and host of the last two editions of the event, stated: “ICTA has experienced an extraordinary development in Europe over the last two years. Our member base has nearly doubled and we are proud that we could now create a truly European network to exchange ideas and discuss recent developments in our industry. What’s more, we would like to thank our friends at UNIC and EDCF who again contributed to our program and supported our activities.”

The Saturday afternoon session opened with a panel discussing open standards for immersive sound, moderated by Julian Pinn. The second part of the afternoon looked at the future of the cinema as a special-event venue.

At a Saturday evening cocktail and dinner reception at Mirabé restaurant, Thomas Rüttgers presented the 2014 ICTA Industry Award to Kim Pedersen for his outstanding achievements in the cinema industry. Pedersen became Denmark’s youngest cinema owner when he took over a rundown cinema in Aarhus, the second-largest city in Denmark, at the age of 20 and opened the first THX-certified multiplex in the country in 1996. In 2000 he sold his company to Nordisk Film Biographer. Today, he is still very active in the industry and is chairman of the Danish Cinema Exhibitors’ Association and VP of UNIC.

The Sunday seminar session was opened by Jan Runge, CEO of UNIC, and followed by a presentation on the topic “Why films are too loud at 7” by John F. Allen of High Performance Stereo. The next panel hosted by the EDCF featured Peter Wilson on projection standards for 2D and 3D presentation. Other panels covered alternative content, the pros and cons of new laser or NSH light sources versus current projection technologies using Xenon bulbs as a light source, and methods of movie distribution.